Best Area to live - Halifax
 

Hi, Can anyone on the forum tell me the best place / areas to live in Nova Scotia, preferably near to halifax.

I am moving out soon and have seen some fantastic properties on the MLS, but need to know if these areas are any good.

Any of the upmarket suburbs on Halifax would be great, if anyone can help, but i am open to options.

Anything about areas (good or bad) would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

Fawks

Re: Best Area to live - Halifax
 

I'd e interested in hearing the responses. The areas that I have heard mentioned are Fall River, Hammonds Plain and Laurencetown, bt there might be more. I guess it depends upon what you are looking for, do you have kids etc etc

Re: Best Area to live - Halifax
 

It must depend on where you work- do you like to travel there by car or do you like to walk there perhaps, or do you have family that have needs such as schools/university?

Re: Best Area to live - Halifax
 

There are many good areas (and some bad) in and around HRM but it really depends on what you are looking for. Factors to consider include:

How much you want to/have to spend.
Size of property, number of bedrooms, bathrooms etc.
City/town living or land/acreage
Commute/travel time
Schools
Work

(I know... obvious but worth mentioning)

Some other areas beyond your list could include:

Bedford
St Margaret's bay
Porters lake
Dartmouth
Timberlea
Mineville

These have some nice properties and are all easily commutable to Halifax. Of course if you can't find what you want.... find where you want and build it.

Good luck.

Re: Best Area to live - Halifax
 

Agree with previous posts, a lot depends on what you are looking for. Also is resale important? This is what we have found after a year living here.
You have to be careful as there are areas within areas. Fall River is very popular, but in some parts people are having problems selling as they have no water, the wells are drying out, so check if the part of Fall River you are looking at has municipal services or not. The same applies to Hammonds Plain. Parts of Waverley, especially on the lake are also worth considering, especially towards Windsor Junction. In Dartmouth, probably the only area worth looking at is Colby Village. Going out to Musquodoboit Harbour you will find some nice properties at lower prices, but you have to ask yourself why this is? Porters Lake also has nice big houses, but again what sort of infastructure do you need? Are schools and health care important to you. The roads are pretty isolated, so would it be a problem driving in winter?
In Halifax, avoid Spryfield/Cowies Hill, likewise central Halifax. South end is, in our opinion, really overpriced, and you have the students to contend with. You will not find a decent house in south Halifax for under C$400 000, and taxes have just gone up. Clayton Park and Purcell's cove have older houses, with slightly more land, but again higher taxes. You do have better transport, education and health services though. In Bedford, Eaglewood and the area around Shore Road are probably the best sections to look at. Again, you get areas within areas. You do have a couple of shopping centres though and of course, the famous Pete's Frootique. Another area in Bedford is the Ravines, where they are currently building new houses in the
C$400 000 - C$500 000 price range. We have watched these being built though and wouldn't buy there.
Hubley and Tantallon have some nice houses, but again, many are on well water and septic tanks. You will generally get more for your money though. Check out the basements! We found a few houses out that way all had pumps in the basements, working continually. St Margaret's Bay is a popular area, a good sailing club, a mix of housing, old and new. Fairly good access to Halifax. Wherever you buy, travelling into Halifax can be a hastle. Some mornings it can take us up to 45 mins to get from Bedford into Halifax. Other times it can take 20 mins. You get bottle necks on all the main roads at rush hour. Might not seem so bad in summer, but can be pretty miserable in winter. We also came across a couple of realtors we wouldn't recommend as well as a couple we would. Shop around there too. They don't seem to work in particular areas here, one was selling houses from Sheet Harbour through to Annopolis.

Re: Best Area to live - Halifax
 

Ok Folks. Thanks very much for all the information. It is much appreciated.

If i was to say a $150000 as a price range am i being extremely optomistic.

Kids will need a decent school and travelling does not phase. House with land would also be beneficial, but not essential.

Looking on the MLS it would appear that most houses are of wooden construction. Is this the case for most houses in Nova Scotia.

Also on the MLS there are some decent looking houses for about $80000. Again is this decent areas or are we looking at bad areas here. I appreciate there are no names, but too many to mention.

Thanks to all again for your help, but as always any info much appreciated.

Re: Best Area to live - Halifax
 

This is the case for most of the houses in Canada let alone NS!

Re: Best Area to live - Halifax
 

OK, so where are the locations of the houses you are looking at? Then we can give some feedback.

You can see the general confusion caused on here by different people's perceptions - you mentioned up market suburbs of Halifax - people respond (quite rightly) talking about $400k + in Bedford, whereas you are really talking about spending less than $200k. More detail really is needed.